Braveheart
by ElizabethHawthorne22
Summary: She lived for the life-or-death situations that accompanied fighting in the war between the factionless and the factions, and she thrived off adrenaline. But a certain leader had his eyes set on breaking her, and she found the applied pressure a struggle. She wanted to hate him for making her life difficult, but she found it continuously harder the more she fell for him.
1. Chapter 1 Pilot

A/N: Constructive criticism welcomed and encouraged, as well as opinions and ideas.

No updating schedule. / I'll try to update once a week but don't hold me to that because there is like zero chance it's going to happen. My motto for writing happens to be quality over quantity, so keep that in mind when waiting for a chapter. I'm probably spending more time making it grammatically correct so it doesn't say that Eric ate a chair leg instead of chicken because we all know how stupid autocorrect can be at times (even if it's saved my life on occasion).

I try not to do long or unnecessary A/N's but I felt all this was important to mention, so bear with me. The Choosing Ceremony is at 18 (because let's be honest 16 is a little young to choose what you want to do and how you want to live for the rest of your life. I even think 18 is too young but 20 just would have made things weird). This is set one year before Divergent. There are several mentions in Divergent about how Tris could see that Dauntless was build on a solid foundation about bravery and freedom but over the years it has begun going downhill and that the Dauntless Tris joined wasn't what it was originally intended to be. To play off that a bit, I wrote Dauntless trying to resemble what it was originally, stressing the fact that they are soldiers there to protect the city and it's not just a funhouse of freaks, but it's still going to be very unique and have its own daredevil flare to it, don't worry.

There is another thing most writers of fanfiction in this fandom accidentally overlook - the fact that these people aren't like regular humans and don't think like regular human because their brains have been messed with. The aptitude test isn't something like a personality test, telling you where you are most likely to fit in, it is literally reading your mind, which has been hard wired to think and act the way a certain faction thinks and acts, which is all a result of the fact that the city of Chicago is just a huge scale experiment. This is something easy to forget because the books are written from the prospective of someone who isn't like that, so we don't really get a good idea of what's that like. So since the point of view for this fanfiction is from someone who isn't divergent, she may act weird or different or think strangely because her brain has been hard wired to be in a certain faction, to make her a perfect citizen in that faction.

Eric looks like movie Eric (because I love Jai), but I might have changed a few things about his appearance to suit my liking better - like different tattoos or piercings - but feel free to imagine him whichever way you prefer. Also, because Eric isn't a major character in the books and we don't know very much about him (and the little we do know is only Tris's opinion and view of him), he might seem a little OC at times, but I tried really hard to keep him in character while simultaneously making him different. Read the story for that sentence to make any sense.

Last but not least (I feel like everyone says this and everyone who does say this slightly annoys me but I'll say it anyway), I would appreciate it if you were to review, follow, or favorite! Encouragement can make a difference as large as getting up a chapter several days early or of better quality so don't be shy. I don't bite (well, actually…).

The first chapter is a flashback of sorts, the second chapter is where it all starts, so I'll post both chapters up together.

Disclaimer: Veronica Roth owns the divergent series, as well as Eric; I only own my OC's and plot.

(I feel like the title fanfiction is self-explanatory, but alas, I am mere human and have flaws, so maybe I am wrong or other people don't think the same ways I do.)

 _Chapter One. Pilot_

"It's ok, Lizzy. Everyone gets scared. Some people just know how to fight their fears and not let them control them." Her mother said, referring to her panic attack while swimming.

"How can I get rid of my fear of the water mommy? I want to swim like Daddy and bubba!" She whined, watching her brother laughing and splashing around in the stream.

"You have to be able to control yourself. Take deep breaths and calm your heart. You can do it, honey."

She followed her mommy and took big breaths until she felt more calm. She smiled brightly. "How are you so smart, mommy? Were you in Air-u-dite?" She laughed at the thought. Her mommy in Erudite? How funny!

She mother must have thought it was funny too, because she smiled. "No, I used to be a Dauntless. But let's not talk about that right now. Let's get you swimming!" She squealed in delight. Mommy was going to help her fight her fears and teach her how to swim!

A support beam collapsed above her from the weakened state of the upper floors. It would have landed on top of her if her father hadn't pulled her away just in time. Smoke was filling up the room and he coughed hard, hugging his little girl tightly to his chest.

"Elizabeth, get out of the house through the back door. Run to Uncle Joe's house and tell him there is a fire. Do not stop running till you reach Uncle Joe, do you understand?" She nodded, crystal blue eyes wide with fear. She turned and stumbled to the door, running as fast as her little legs would carry her. Her daddy yelling for her brothers grew more distant as her thudding heart and heavy breaths seemed to reverberate in her head. She reached her uncle's cabin and forewent her manners to knock, instead bursting straight through the door.

"Help! My house is on fire! You have to help, Uncle Joe!" He fell out of the door to her right, looking bleary-eyed and disheveled wearing his pajamas and his hair and long beard unbrushed. At the sight of her uncle the stress of the last few minutes broke and she started to cry.

He swooped her into his arms and patted her back reassuringly.

"My house - there's a fire - daddy and my bubba's - Uncle Joe, you have to help!" She buried her head into the crook of his neck and began sobbing, mumbling incoherently.

"Shh, sweetheart, they'll be alright." He said, right before taking off towards the house at a quick pace. She bounced in his arms, hiccuping, tears soaking his shirt. He set her down on a hay bail, looking her in the eyes. "Elizabeth, stay here. Do you understand me?" She nodded once again, thinking of how similar daddy and Uncle Joe were. They must be brothers, she thought through her tears as she watched him run into the burning house. She wiped at her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to remember the technique her mommy taught her for when she got scared.

She watched her little brother run out of the house carrying his favorite toy truck, her mommy following close behind, and she suddenly remembered Mr Al Phant. She hopped off the hay bail and ran towards the house, stumbling over the few rocks that littered her path. She opened the backdoor and ran straight to her bedroom. The fire was currently destroying her toy chest at the foot of her bed and was burning its way across her blanket, but she ignored the heat, instead rushing to her large stuffed animal elephant. It's tail was singed slightly, but she gathered it up in her arms. As she turned to leave she stumbled - Mr Al was _heavy_ \- and the fire kept creeping closer. She pushed herself off the floor and suddenly felt licks of heat across her ankles. She scurried away from the fire, dragging her stuffed animal with her. The red hot flames were moving quickly across the blue woven rug, eating up her feet as she tried to kick it away. She reached the door and grabbed hold of the metal handle, screaming when her hand came away red and blistered. Her screams turned into panicked yells and sobs, as she slid onto the floor, back against the door, and kicked at the fire, as if willing it to go away. She couldn't feel her feet and her lungs were filling with smoke. She couldn't breath and started to panic, screaming and choking, as the fire crawled up her legs.

Suddenly the door behind her swung open and she fell through the door post, her small body flailing wildly, struggling to breath. She felt a tug on her arms, and slight weightless feeling. Her vision was beginning to darken and fill with white fuzzy spots but she could faintly see a huge man in black clothes and glittering rings in his eyebrows picking her up. He ran out of the building, barely passing through the doorway in the back before the ceiling started caving in. He kept running, all the way out to the row of hay bales where virtually no smoke polluted the air. He laid the suffocating girl onto the perfectly weeded grass and began chest compressions immediately. Her mommy ran up behind him while he worked desperately to keep her breathing. A few more chest pumps and she gasped, coughed, then hacked out shaky breaths, dispelling the poisonous gas out of her body. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she began to sob uncontrollably, at this point her mommy moving in to hug and comfort her. The man in black stepped back and took a long look at the ruins of her house - no, home. People from the neighborhood and several other similarly dressed men like him were throwing buckets of water onto the flames, but to no avail.

The scared little girl finally calmed down a bit from her mommys soothing words and the rhythmic rocking in her arms, and her crying eased to silent tears. Once she was able to stand on shaky legs she noticed the man in black who had rescued her. She ran to him and engulfed his legs in a hug.

"Thank you for saving me Mister!" She exclaimed, a few more tears falling from her eyes as she buried her head into his thigh. He looked down at her, shocked for a moment. Once recovered he gently lifted her into his arms and smiled kindly.

"You're very welcome. But I think Mr. elephant here owns you a thank you himself." She squealed in delight as he pulled her slightly burned stuffed animal from behind his back.

"It's Mr. Al Phant! Not Mr. Elephant!" She said, squeezing the animal against her.

He chuckled at her and apologized. "I'm sorry, Mr. Al Phant! Will you ever forgive me?"

She giggled as he talked in a childish tone. "Mr. Al Phant can't talk, silly!" She had already forgotten about the previous incidents when he shifted her slightly in his grip and she cried out. He muttered something and laid her back down onto the grass.

"I can't feel my feet, but my legs hurt!" she said, suddenly crying again. He looked down at her bare feet and gasped. They were covered in blisters and angry red welts that he hadn't noticed before, it was a miracle she had been able to walk on her feet moments ago like she did. He was shocked, no child should have such a high pain tolerance. How hadn't she been hurting? In the pale light of the rising sun and the blazing fire behind them he tried to evaluate the damage. Her mommy, who had been helping her brother, returned, carrying him in her arms.

'Is she going to be alright? Will she still be able to walk?" she asked, worried.

The man in black tried to lift one of her legs and she yelled "Owwy!"

He grimaced. "She should be able to walk but there will be permanent tissue damage, severe scarring at best."

He stood up, about to get a care-kit when her daddy ran up. He ran to his wife first, checking to make sure she was unharmed, then the little boy crying in her arms. He then saw his little girl on the ground and rushed to her side, taking her into his arms.

"Ow! Daddy, my legs!" She cried, trying to move away from the pain. He laid her back down and looked to her rescuer, who was crouching down on her other side.

"Thank you so much for saving my daughter!" He grasped the others shoulder, eyes misting at the thought of what could have happened had he not been there.

'Elizabeth, don't ever do that again!" he chastised her, blinking hard to eliminate tears. "You know better than to run back inside when I told you not to."

"But, Daddy, I had to save Mr. Al Phant!" she said, trying to defend her actions.

To her daddy's surprise, the man in black defended her as well. "Sir, she did a very brave thing. I'm sure you can't blame her for being compassionate towards Mr Al Phant; he wouldn't have made it out of the fire if she hadn't saved him."

"Of course you would think that with all you're Dauntless bravery crap! She could have died, stop parading it like she is a hero! It was foolish of her to go back into a burning building after a stuffed animal! Stop feeding her this nonsense and get out of my sight! I appreciate you saving her but you have gone too far." Her daddy yelled and she got a bit scared. Daddy never yelled, he was supposed to stay peaceful in Amity. She began to cry again, and hugged her stuffed animal closer to her for fear that he might take him away. The man in black stood to leave and she began panicking. She wanted him to stay! He saved her and he was funny. She wanted him to stay with her.

'No! Please don't go, Mister!" She said, reaching out for him. she winced when she tried to move her legs but continued trying anyway.

He looked back at her, glancing momentarily at her daddy before crouching down next to her again. He tucked a strand of brown curls out of her face and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I have to go, or your daddy will get mad. Take care of Mr Al Phant, ok?" she shook her head furiously and shoved her animal into his arms.

"Will you take care of him for me please? I know you will take good care of him." She said, and he couldn't protest against her wide blue eyes.

"Ok, I'll take care of him, but he will think about you all the time and will never forget you!"

"Never?"

"Never." He agreed, tucking it securely under his jacket, pressed up against his chest. She nodded, a grin widening on her face. He winked playfully and she laughed, before he turned and jogged down to the large trucks that had gathered around her home and were spraying water on it.


	2. Chapter 2 Choosing Day

A/N: Constructive criticism welcomed and encouraged, as well as opinions and ideas.

Disclaimer: Veronica Roth owns the Divergent series, as well as Eric; I only own my OC's and plot.

 _Chapter Two. Choosing Day.  
_

"Elizabeth Hawthorne."

She stepped up confidently, having already decided what faction she would choose years ago, yesterday only confirming it for her. She was handed a silver knife, and she could feel her heart thumping excitedly in her chest in anticipation. She slid the cool blade over her palm and only winced slightly at the sting. Blood began slowly seeping through the cut and she held her hand over the bowl, squeezing just enough to encourage a drop of crimson to slide down the side of her hand and land with a sizzle. She stared at the bowl, lips slightly parted as she inhaled deeply.

She passed the knife back to Jack and walked off towards the crowds of black, only just noticing the whooping and hollering. She managed a quick glance towards the Amity section, spotting her parents and siblings. Her mother had tears pooling in her eyes, and was clutching her husband's hands, while both of them smiled with pride. Liam had a huge grin plastered on his face and Joseph - Joseph looked sad, empty, lonely, and her heart broke a little. She caught his eye and he sent her a warm smile, meant to make her feel better but it only hurt more. He was the only one who had known she was going to transfer, and despite how he looked in that moment she knew he was happy for her. But she could see now that the full impact of what it meant that she would be transferring hit him. She wouldn't be around to wrestle with him, or for them to bake together, and if he was going to transfer to Candor like she was certain he will next year, they won't see each other again unless by complete chance. She held up her thumb and pinky finger, and shook them above her head. His face morphed into blissful happiness at past memories and repeated the gesture towards her. She grinned, and with a final glance to her family, morphed into the Dauntless crowd - _her_ factions crowd.

She sat down next to a Dauntless born girl with neon yellow hair that faded into hot pink. Liz took in the nose piercing and the flower tattoos on her neck and arms, smiling.

"What are you smiling about, Banjo?" The girl snapped and Elizabeth felt a little guilty for staring.

"I just can't wait to get some tattoos. Love your hair by the way." She smiled warmly, hoping to relieve some tension.

The girl did a quick once-over of her and grunted in response, crossing her arms. Elizabeth spent the rest of the ceremony looking around her at all the other Dauntless, and couldn't help but admire them. Everybody was so confident and unique and she couldn't stop herself from smiling until the end of the ceremony, and then some more. She was pleasantly surprised as they took off down the stairs and she almost tripped racing after them, the adrenaline pumping through her blood making her more clumsy than normal.

She managed to catch up with the rest of the Dauntless when they broke free of the building and raced to the tracks. She was a very good climber from years of apple tree climbing and rock climbing at the cliffs with her brothers, so she scaled the beams faster than some of the Dauntless-borns.

As the train raced by she jumped into the first cargo load, with only a few of the fastest people, including the yellow/hot pink haired girl from the ceremony. She caught her eye, and if Liz wasn't imagining things, she would bet she saw something close to admiration flash across the other girls face.

Liz guessed she had earned her friendship, because she walked over and sat beside her against the train wall.

"I'm Erica, by the way." She offered, and Liz smiled.

"Elizabeth." She nodded and they both sat in comfortable silence as she caught her breath.

She couldn't help but overhear a conversation another group of Dauntless-borns were having, leaning against the wall next to Erica.

"I heard Eric is suppose to be training the initiates this year, and Amar is only going to be the supervising leader." A girl with long black hair tinted electric blue at the tips mentioned offhandedly.

A guy whose name she had caught earlier, Brice, muttered something under his breath darkly and said out loud, "I'm glad Lauren and Jordan are the Dauntless-born trainers. I freaking hate Eric."

Another girl with a green pixie cut visibly shivered. "Everyone hates Eric, who doesn't? He is a stuck up jerk."

Erica intruded into their conversation sharply. "Y'all better start respecting your leaders or they'll have your heads on sticks."

"Eric's not a leader yet, so we will be safe for another sacred month." Brice spat back.

Erica only shrugged, keeping her cool despite his temper.

Despite herself and her usually quiet personality, Liz couldn't help but ask, "What's so bad about Eric anyway?"

"He hates everyone and seems determined to make everyone else hate him." The girl with the green hair answered with fear prominent in her voice. Liz saw Erica rolling her eyes, and decided not to question further.

"Get ready to jump!" An older looking Dauntless said. Liz looked where she was pointing. They would be jumping off a moving train onto a seven story building? She knew Dauntless were rash but _really?_ She waited for Erica to jump first and decided to go behind her. She watched as Erica gracefully lept off the train, landing on her feet.

Liz jumped afterwards, rolling on the hard surface to lessen the impact. Everyone else was falling out of the train, Dauntless-born gracefully landing on their feet while most transfers were stumbling and slipping on the gravel pebbles on the roof. They were all grouping together near the edge of the building, so she jogged over to stand behind an Erudite transfer.

A short, buff black man was pacing on the ledge of the building, like it was a sidewalk instead of a few inches leading to death. He seemed to be older in his years, maybe in his 40's, the edges of his closely shaven hair greying. He had a few tattoos along his arms, and commanded a respect in the way only a leader could. He began speaking, booming voice silencing the buzz of small talk. "I'm Max, the leader of Dauntless." He indicated behind him. "This is your one-way ticket into Dauntless. It's up to you whether or not you jump, but just know something. Dauntless is for the brave. You made it through the first test, but it will only get harder. If you're not up to the challenge, if you're not brave enough to jump into what lies ahead, get out now and don't bother wasting my time." Max jumped down from the ledge and held up a hand as invitation for someone to take his place dangling off the building. He stared them down like a tiger ready to pounce. "Well? Who's going to jump first?" He said after a minute of silence.

Before she had the chance to really consider going first, a guy next to her pushed his way through the group to the front. He was an Erudite transfer, his blue jacket whipping in the wind; she found out later his name was Jared. His face was determined as he stepped up onto the ledge. He didn't hesitate one second before stepping off casually, disappearing from sight down the side of the building.

Max nodded approvingly, and turned back to the crowd. "Next?"

Elizabeth knew immediately she wanted in on the fun; she had a feeling it would feel like flying, but she had no idea what to expect at the bottom. At Amity she sometimes went swimming at a hidden pond in a mountain valley, and there was a ledge about twenty feet above the water she would jump from. She figured it would be just like that, hopefully landing in water at the bottom. She maneuvered through the group to the front, where two guys were fighting to be next. She slipped past them to the ledge, no one noticing because all eyes were on the fight, except one. She turns to look at Max; he was smirking, and gave her an approving nod, permission that she could jump next. She pulled off her jacket, letting the wind whip at her dress as she stepped up to the ledge.

"Alright everyone line up, save your energy." Max broke up the fight and watched everyone line up, everyone's attention moving to her. She stood up on the ledge, facing the crowd. She glanced down skeptically behind her, wondering if jumping off of a building was the really the smart way to go. Before she could think much of it, she back-flipped off the ledge.


	3. Chapter 3 Dauntless

A/N: Constructive criticism welcomed and encouraged _,_ as well as opinions and ideas.

Disclaimer: Veronica Roth owns the Divergent series, as well as Eric; I only own my OC's and plot.

~o0O0o~ _Chapter Three. Dauntless_.

 _Before she could think much of it, she back-flipped off the building._

Liz thought she heard someone whistle, but it could have been the wind zipping past her ears as she tumbled into the hole in the ground, darkness engulfing her. She felt a rush of energy surging into her as fast as the speed of light, enveloping her in a sense of adrenaline-filled power, igniting a flame in her body, kindled by the strong arms of the wind. She felt like she could do anything, that she could fly, breathe underwater, or walk through fire. Suddenly, the sense of euphoria ended as she landed on something that felt like rope. A net? It bounced her back up and down again. After two smaller jolts she settled and attempted to crawl off. The net dipped under her and she rolled out, landing catlike on her feet before raising her head to look around. Jared was standing off to the side, smiling eagerly as he looked around him in awe. The cavern was huge, stalagmites and stalactites grew around the room, and large metal beams safely secured the ceiling of the cave. Several tunnels lead away into darkness, teasers for what waited for them deeper into Dauntless.

Then Liz noticed who had pulled the net down for her. He was probably in his late twenties, stood tall and large, and had a black goatee. Dozens of earrings clustered on the edges of each ear sparkled under the industrial lighting the room provided, and he had a piercing in his nose that reminded her of a Spanish Bull's from history class. She seemed to shrink under him, feeling slightly intimidated, but she stood her ground. He looked at her expectantly, a smirk playing on his lips. Confusion washed over her before realizing he had probably asked her a question.

""Name?" He repeated, showing little irritation, but more amusement.

"Elizabeth." She said quietly, and he nodded.

"Second jumper, Elizabeth." He yelled out into the room. That's when she saw other people standing behind her, and the large crowd of Dauntless clapped and cheered. She walked unsteadily over to stand by Jared, who clapped her on the back and congratulated her for having the guts to jump second. She smiled politely at him when a scream ripped through the air, and a body crashed onto the net. The same guy that had helped Liz pulled down the side of the net and the girl tumbled out. She almost face planted into the cement floor but he caught her just in time. They exchanged words and she began walking towards the other two as he yelled, "Third jumper, Amber."

Right as Amber stood beside Liz, another body fell with a yelp. She recognized him as one of the guys that was fighting when she had jumped. His name was announced as Jason, and he stood over by the group. After the rest of the transfers went, the Dauntless-born started jumping, most of them whooping and yelling, versus the high-pitched, panicked screams that a lot of the transfers let out.

They were introduced to Amar, the guy who had helped them down from the net, a leader who would be observing their training. They were given some rules, the Dauntless-born and the transfers split up, and then they toured Dauntless. Halfway through, when they were at the pit, a walking tattoo pulled Amar aside to discuss some important leader things. Amar left the pit quickly, ashen-faced, and the other guy stepped over to the group of transfers. He had several piercings on his ears, two dermals above his right eyebrow and bold tattoos covering each arm and his neck. He was handsome in a chiseled, rough Dauntless way, with a sharply angled jaw line and strong cheekbones.

"Listen up!" He said unnecessarily, since the transfers were already listening with rapt attention. "I'm Eric, the new Dauntless leader. In case that doesn't already scream caution, I will not hesitate to snap your neck if you were to be so stupid as to cross me." His voice was rough and threatening, accompanying a look of disgust at the group in front of him. He glared down everyone to emphasize the point, and Liz could see why the Dauntless-born on the train hate him. "I'm your trainer; I will teach you throughout your initiation process, and will be the main factor in deciding your rankings. You will train separately from the Dauntless-born in stage one; for stages two and three you will train together."

"Why do we have rankings?" A Candor transfer, whose name evaded Liz, interrupted.

Eric grinned, and the pure malice and evil intent sent cold shivers down her spine. "Aside from the fact your ranking will determine your job offers, everyone ranked below the red line at the end of each stage of initiation will become factionless."

"But there are only eight of us transfers. You can't expect us to compete with the Dauntless." The same guy said, trepidation monopolizing his voice. Liz wished he would shut up because Eric only seemed to get more evil pleasure the more they spoke on the topic.

"Well you had better step up your game then, huh?" Eric said like he was speaking to a child.

Everyone was fairly shocked at the news.

"Why aren't we told about this before we join? The other factions don't have this, right?" Billy, another Candor, questioned nervously.

Eric gave a pointed glare at him. "Well the other factions don't need it, do they? We are soldiers, to protect our city, and we can only accept the best of the best. And if you had known beforehand there was a chance you would end up factionless would you have still joined? Would you be scared to join if there was a risk involved? That's tough, cupcake, because even if you pass initiation, life is hard here at Dauntless and there is risk involved in everything we do. If you can't live with our lifestyle why are you here in the first place? You thought we were a bunch of rambunctious idiots and you wanted to join in on the fun? Sorry to disappoint but that's not what we're about. And if you can't face that then get out now."

Eric's speech silenced the group, to the point you could hear a pin drop. Liz had to admit, she agreed with him completely and it even built up a little respect for him in the back of her mind. Dauntless was about bravery, and a risk like becoming factionless wasn't much worse than the risk of everyday life, especially with the factionless stirring.

Another minute of the information sinking in and they were back to their tour, this time Eric leading. Liz could feel the unease between her fellow initiates, heck _she_ was a bit scared by that information, but it only further pushed into her mind that she needed to put every effort into this. It would be difficult but she had no choice but to pass. What would Joseph think of her if she ended up being a factionless? She shivered just thinking about it. She _had_ to pass, no doubt about it.

When they reached the dorms Liz happily burnt her old pink sundress after changing into some black issued training clothes. Eric informed them on the time of dinner and left, the look of disgust at having to be around them still evident on his face.

Liz sat down on a top bunk near the door, noting her predicament. The bathroom was wide open for everyone to see, and the majority of transfers were male. She felt safer on the top bunk, with convenient access to the door, and she was used to living in bunk rooms at Amity, so she wasn't too worried about that. But she always had the privacy of a bathroom, and she was uncomfortable with the idea of showering in front of everyone.

She sat cross-legged on the mattress and listened to the talk around her, not bothering to add to the conversations herself. Derik, the loudmouth Candor transfer from the tour, whose name she learned when he introduced himself on their walk there, and a fellow Amity transfer Jason were arguing over the last top bunk. They eventually decided to arm wrestle over it, Derik winning with a round of applause from around the room. Britney, and airhead blonde, Amber, and another Erudite that transferred with her, Paul were in the corner, whispering like children with a secret. Jared and Billy were chatting aimlessly near the showers about who knows what, and Billy kept face palming.

A small digital clock rested above the door, and chimed softly when it reached 6 o'clock. Everyone began excitedly filtering out of the room for dinner. Liz got stuck in the middle of the group as they argued about whether they should take a left or right at a fork in the path. The majority determined it was left and they thankfully found their way to the mess hall.

Liz sat beside Jared, and picked at her food cautiously. She had eaten chicken legs before at Amity - she had even raised some chicken - but there was barely anything else to accompany the meat. Peas, mashed potatoes and bread rolls, along with the chicken, was all that was served, and it was a stark contrast to what she is used to. Amity provided very colorful meals, with lots of fruit and vegetables, and a multitude of dessert options. The only dessert Dauntless offered was chocolate cake, which she was reluctant to try. Not because it didn't look good, but she never was a big fan for cakes. She preferred pies and cobblers, apple flavored to be specific. She hoped the food wouldn't always be boring as she bit into her chicken. _At least it was seasoned well._

Liz looked around the large room, observing the groups of Dauntless. It was fascinating to watch colorfully inked people prancing around energetically, cackling loudly, and being generally chaotic. There were a few tables that seemed more calm, one in specific being the leader's table - or she assumed, as all of the leaders she had met so far sat there, as well as others who looked far more serious and deadly than the average member.

Amber sat down near the end of the table with Paul and Jason, each yelling loudly over the other to be heard in the discussion, and the noise startled Liz from her speculations.

"I WANT TO EAT A TOMATO!" Jason screeched, causing laughter to spread throughout the room at the spontaneous words. Once everything had quieted down, or at least as quiet as it can get with a room full of Dauntless, Liz began eating again, the room's excitement leaking into her. She could feel herself light up on the inside, heart beat thrumming steadily in her ears and causing her knee to bounce at a nonrhythmic pace from pent up energy.

Brittney slid into a seat across from her, setting her tray down clumsily and almost spilling her drink. Her face was red, not in an attractive, rosy way, but more of an embarrassed, nervous-wreck way. She tried to gather herself together and started talking immediately.

"Oh my gosh this place is so dark and spooky and mysterious! Everyone is so awesome; I can't wait till I officially become a Dauntless member!" Liz rolled her eyes and scooped up some mashed potatoes onto her fork, trying to ignore her.

"It's Jared right?" Brittney continued in her horribly high-pitched voice, moving her attention onto Jared. "I'm Britney. Do you plan on getting any tattoos or piercings? I think you would look really hot with a few tattoos." She bat her eyelashes at him, smiling sweetly.

He gave her a tight-lipped smile and said tersely, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not interested." Liz almost choked on her drink watching Britney's reaction. Her face fell from what she probably thought was a flirtatious smile to a frown as she pouted.

After that conversation was lull, that was, until a Dauntless born Liz knew as Jeffrey sat down beside her. He swallowed a large bite of meat before starting a conversation.

"Sooo, transfers, eh? What were your old factions?"

Britney spoke up first. "Candor, but they weren't right for me. Everyone was too judgemental; I couldn't handle the atmosphere." Jared mumbled something probably highly offensive under his breath and took a bite of his chicken. Liz tried to blocked out her surroundings, solely focused on eating, but Jeffery seemed set on getting her to talk. He nudged her in the shoulder and scooted closer on the bench as he spoke. "What faction were you from?"

"Amity." She said clearly, but didn't expound. He slung an arm around and grasped her shoulder which she wasn't exactly ok with but didn't attempt to push him off. "So you might be a little ahead of the game then, eh? I've heard Amity is pretty exciting, maybe even daring, without the weapons training and whatnot." He waved his hand around for unneeded emphasis. "Is it true?"

She simply shrugged, still not looking at him. "I wouldn't know all that much."

"What is it like at Amity?"

"Peaceful." He laughed at her one word answer, but didn't take it as a sign that she didn't want to talk, or maybe he just ignored it.

"Why did you leave Amity if it was so peaceful then?"

She shrugged again, not caring to give an answer.

"Not a talker, eh?"

Another shrug. "I prefer to keep my thoughts to myself, thanks." She pushed his hand from her shoulder, and continued eating like nothing had happened. He seemed a little taken aback, but after recovering, he smiled to himself and began chomping down onto his chicken, seemingly unfazed by her rejection. Several more Dauntless-born filled up the remaining seats around the table and they chatted animatedly. Liz tried not to notice how Jeff kept glancing at her, even going so far as openly staring when he thought no one was looking. She was slightly relieved when Max stepped out onto the ledge to give his speech. It was about Dauntless bravery and some other awesome stuff she happily cheered along with.

After the speech, in the midst of the cheering still coming to a close, she left the mess hall and began the journey to the wanted to get a good long sleep for the day ahead of her.


	4. Chapter 4 Initiation

_A/N: I got to do a lot of fun research about guns for this chapter! The guns I picked for the standard at Dauntless might seem unusual or weird, but I liked them and they all had useful traits I thought would be fitting for the rank and jobs they will be used in. Since I have very limited knowledge of guns (and most of the stuff I do know if either from Call of Duty or the research I just did to complete the chapter), I wouldn't mind some corrections when I make mistakes, or advice on guns and stuff._

 _I have come to the conclusion that it might not have been very smart to have Liz's good Dauntless-born friend Erica share a very close name to Eric, her (spoilers) soon-to-be love interest, as that could get highly confusing. Alas, it is too late to turn back now, so I must suffer the consequences._

 _Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter finished; I've been busy. To make up for it, I wrote an extra long chapter._

 _Constructive criticism welcomed and encouraged, as well as opinions and ideas._

 _Disclaimer: Veronica Roth owns the Divergent series, as well as Eric; I only own my OC's and plot._

 _~o0O0o~ Chapter Four. Initiation._

A loud banging noise startled her awake. Liz jumped out of bed and realized too late she had a top bunk. She landed on top of someone, and they both went crashing into the concrete floor. Her still groggy from sleep mind took an awkwardly long amount of time to realize what had happened while the body under her groaned.

She shot to her feet, and reached down to give her unsuspecting victim a hand up. It was Jason, the only other Amity transfer. She remembered seeing him around occasionally at social events, but he must have lived on the other side of Amity. From his already built, muscular form, he probably worked at the lumber district of the faction.

He took her hand and she pulled him off the ground, thankful he hadn't received any injuries, and murmured an apology. Eric's voice brought her attention to the doorway, where he was standing with a pot and a metal bar.

"I want you all down in the training room in ten minutes. If you're late - well, let's just hope none of you are late." Eric said with an evil smirk. His voice was deep and threatening, and combined with the echo of the room it carried without him needing to raise the volume for everyone to hear him clearly. The leader left the room as the remaining occupants rushed to throw on some decent clothing for the day's activities. Elizabeth tossed on her only outfit, which happened to be black and black, before jumping into her (black) shoes and leaving the room. She wanted to get to the training room early to hopefully make a good impression on the two leaders, and get some mercy on her first day.

When she arrived at the training room slightly out of breath from her jog down, she was met with the smell of sweaty gym socks blended with something that reminded her of sanitary cleaning spray, probably used to mask the odor but only seemed to make it worse. Her gut churned and she felt slightly nauseous, but she held back the urge to be sick so she didn't look weak in front of the leaders.

Eric stood stiffly with his arms crossed in the middle of the room, wearing a jacket so sharp she was sure she could cut herself on it, while Amar was relaxing against a pillar behind him, examining his nails. The right half of the room was filled with mats and punching bags, the left held targets and tables and a few more mats. One large thick mat covered in something resembling baby powder lay in the middle of the large room. A two-lane running track lined the walls, with a sign posted on the wall near the double doors that stated " _FIVE LAPS EQUALS ONE MILE."_ A large clock rested on the wall opposite the door, confirming to her that she was five minutes early. Amar looked up from examining his nails at the same time Eric said with a cold smile, "Ah, the early bird. Five laps, now."

Liz didn't want to get on his bad side from starting too slowly, so she immediately rushed to the track and began her run. She was only half a lap through when the doors creaked open and three more initiates were commanded to join her. As the rest of the transfers trickled in - thankfully no one was late - and began their morning run, with Eric yelling at them to go faster, Amar was setting up a chalkboard near the fighting mat in the middle of the room.

Liz's legs began to burn, but she ignored it, increasing her speed to help distract from the slightly annoying pain. She finished her fifth lap at a sprint, and when she was panting on the ground at the end, her body seemed to scream in protest at her strenuous run. Her legs were shaking and aching at an unbearable level and she was starting to wish she had slowed down instead of gone faster. After a long minute of catching her breath, she glanced at the clock, and was surprised it had only been roughly six minutes since she entered. She guessed her run must of have been really fast for a transfer, because Amar looked impressed as he glanced her way, like he was surprised she was already finished. Eric noticed she wasn't running and jogged over to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He seemed annoyed, like she was a pest that wouldn't die, but she was at loss for why. She sat up on her knees and wiped a hand across her forehead to clear the sweat that had gathered above her brows.

"I finished my five laps." She replied, looking up at him from her position on the floor.

"All five?" He accused, voice mocking in a show of disbelief. If that wasn't a sign she had finished unusually fast Liz didn't know what was. She nodded, and he seemed doubtful before settling with a look of disapproval. She was puzzled by his reaction, but before she had a chance to analyze it he gestured for her to follow him across the room to the large mat in the center.

"You transferred from Amity?" He asked, but it sounded as if he already knew. She nodded and he gestured for her to stand up on the mat. She stood in the middle, glancing around the room uncomfortably. Amar had taken Eric's place yelling at the remaining runners, and the only other transfer who wasn't running was on the ground in the middle of the track, seemingly too exhausted to continue. Liz looked back at Eric, hoping for an explanation for her standing in the middle of the room on the mat, but his back was turned, watching the other initiates running, and typing stuff into his tablet every time someone finished. Roughly nine minutes later, if her watching the clock in absence of something to do was anything to go by, everyone had completed the five laps, except Billy, who had to stop on lap four from severe cramps. Not even before everyone caught their breaths Eric was calling them all over to stand in front of the mat, effectively putting all attention on Liz, leaving her beat red and confused.

"Listen up everybody!" Eric silenced the already quiet group, and turned to Liz. "Do you know how long it took you to run five laps?" She shook her head, and his look of disapproval seemed to deepen, like he was genuinely disappointed that she hadn't thought to keep track. He fiddled with something on his tablet for a second and she guessed he had been timing them. From her position on the mat she could see part of his screen and it appeared to be a list of numbers.

"Five minutes and fifty-two seconds." He stated, reading off the list, and her suspicions were confirmed. It look her a moment to understand why this data was important though. The sign had said five laps was a mile, but she wasn't sure how long a mile was in proportion to her time. Did she run too fast? She shifted her weight uncomfortably, waiting for him to continue while her thoughts were running wild. Where was he going with this? Was she suppose to run slow? Was she going to get in trouble for showing off without meaning to?

"Would you like to know the fastest recorded mile for a transfer initiate?" He asked, but didn't give her a chance to answer before continuing. "Six minutes and forty-three seconds." Soft gasps and quiet murmurs lit up through the transfers. Eric turned from her to face the group, a ghost of a smirk pulling at his lips.

So she had beaten the fastest recorded mile for an initiate on her first day by almost an entire minute. Wasn't that good? Why did she feel like she was about to be grounded like a child?

"Since Miss Amity has decided to set the standard so high, I expect everyone to run a six minute mile by the end of stage one. Understood?" He looked downright gleeful as he watched the wide-eyed initiates. Liz stood there, and stared at him in shock and anger. The rest of the transfers were being punished because she was a fast runner? What was the point of that? Was he trying to get her killed? Paul and Britney were glaring at her with murder on their minds, she could see it. She looked to Eric, hoping he might take back what he said, but she had no such luck. He was already walking back to Amar to discuss something, probably the new torture method he just implemented to them. They talked for scarcely a minute, but Amar walked to them with a happy sparkle in his eye, like forcing everyone against one person on the first day was his favorite part of training.

Eric left to go who knows where, while Amar worked them through some "warm-up drills." She wasn't sure if the name was just a misnomer or if it was actually that easy for some people, but it felt like torture on her muscles. She was still a bit tired from her run, and doing lunges, suicide squat-jumps, push ups, pull ups, and dozens of other excruciating drills was really wearing her out. After another half hour Amar let them have a break to hydrate and to catch their breaths. They were barely given a minute before he was pushing them through the door, down three long hallways, and up at least seven flights of stairs. At the top of the building, she was beginning to wonder if they were being brought up to the top of the tallest building in the city just to give them an opportunity to jump off instead of going through another few painful months of this.

Once they pushed through the thick metal door, filing out onto the roof, she saw the real reason they were all the way up there, and it was almost as bad as she thought. A long row of evenly spaced out stations with several different guns at each table were positioned near the edge of the building, and as she looked, the building beside it had targets set directly across from them. It appeared Eric had been busy setting all of it up, because he was leaning against one of the tables near the door looking slightly less cardboard stiff and formal. Because of the blazing heat from the sun positioned above them, he had shed his jacket, which was laying behind him, and was left with a form-fitting black shirt. Even if he was being a jerk about her run, Liz had to admit he had a nice set of muscles stretching the thin fabric of his shirt in all the right places.

Amar exited the roof, leaving Eric in charge of the transfers, and she was slightly unsure if that was the smartest thing to do. They all gathered around the table and Eric introduced the three types of guns on the table: selective fire, semi-automatic, and automatic.

"This is the VP70 selective fire or semi-automatic pistol. This weapon stays in the holster of all members when at work, whether in the office or patrols or anything in between. Depending on the job and rank, you can receive a semi-automatic or selective fire variety. No matter what job you have, the pistol is necessary to know. The FN FNC is a more complicated weapon that is only used on patrols, mainly heavily armed trucks, verses on foot. You have to be able to recognize and know it, but we won't have to do drills or practice on it in basic initiation training. The M4A1 is used by guards on the wall, while the lighter model, M4, is used by foot patrols.

"These are the basic guns that will be used, and any further instruction past initiation will be given when entering a job that requires it." After explaining at length more information about each weapon and the different pieces and parts, Eric taught them how to assemble and disassemble each in under one minute. He apparently teaches by example, and went as far of to show off that he can do the VP70 pistol in under 30 seconds. It all boggled her mind, and when she was standing in front of her own table with the three guns displayed before her, she had no idea how she was gonna survive this.

They were told to start with the pistol, so she picked it up and looked at it closely. The gun was heavier than she expected, but it had a nice look to it. Deciding to start learning the parts of the gun since she would have to use it all the time, she began mimicking Eric's movements from before to take out the ammo cartridge. She sighed in relief as it slid out just as it was suppose to, but now she was stuck. She couldn't remember each step individually; they all seemed to slur together from the quick movements of Eric's hands. She tried fiddling with different things to pull it apart but nothing worked.

Eric stopped in front of her table to watch her and she tried to look like she knew what she was doing, but she probably looked like an idiot. He must have been thinking the same thing because he sighed and took the weapon from her. She watched as he removed each piece, albeit, slower than before but still fast enough for her to see the fluid, practiced motion of his deft fingers working talentedly. He showed her twice more, pointing out each piece as he came to it. After he was sure she understood, he left to help the person next to her. This time she managed to take it apart successfully and put it back together, somewhat choppy and not near as smooth as Eric had. She did it a few more times to get used to the feel of the gun in her hands when Eric told them to move on to the M4A1. He demonstrated how to do it, and instructed them on the names of each piece and the purpose of them. As Eric had promised, he only showed them the basics of disassembling the FN FNC, but they didn't have to practice it themselves. Liz was partially relieved; the gun was pretty intimidating and she wasn't a big fan of these weapons in the first place.

After practicing the two weapons to perfection, her mind was a swirling, swimming mess and she wasn't sure how they were expected to remember all of the information that was being thrown at them.

Paul, who was at the table beside her, kept throwing out taunts and insults about her lack of gun knowledge. Being an Erudite, he no doubt did tons of research on everything guns already, and was quick to catch on, something that frustrated her. Nevertheless she kept her cool and ignored him, and eventually he stopped.

After Eric deemed them ready, he presented how to load, shoot, and reload the pistol. They all were then allowed to actually shoot the gun. Her excitement was short lived when her aim took a turn for the worst. She managed to hit the edges of the target enough to not look like a fool, but one glance to Jared on her other side and her struggle was futile. She _did_ look like an idiot.

He was hitting the two inside rings almost every single time, and Eric seemed sure he was doing perfect enough to not have to correct a thing. Instead he moved on to her and immediately pointed out multiple things she was doing utterly wrong. She tried correcting her mistakes but he just rolled his eyes and fixed them for her himself, which including him putting his hands on her hips and arms to perfect the steadiness of her aim and adjust her feet and shoulders to face the target properly. Afterwards a few more of her shots strayed closer to the middle, but Eric didn't notice, as he had moved on to help Paul, who, even after all his talk about knowing how to use the weapons, couldn't hit the target.

They only recieved an hour to practice with the pistol before they had to put up the guns and go back downstairs for lunch. Elizabeth was relieved they were done with weapons at least for the day. She was starting to hate shooting. Her shoulders and arms were sore from the recoil of the gun, and she was sticky with sweat from the heat of the sun.

The transfers filed into the mess hall, chatting aimlessly and complaining about being hungry. Liz saw Erica sitting at a loud table with some of her Dauntless-born friends and sat down with her, her tray of turkey sandwich and fruit more appealing than the dinner she had eaten the day before.

"Hey, Elizabeth! How's training going?" Erica asked with a mouthful of sandwich. Liz frowned thinking of this morning and Erica immediately caught on. "Oh, no. Did you get on Eric's bad side? I've heard it's not pretty. He is known to throw people off of building and use them as targets."

Liz grimaced at the idea. She thought she had seen Eric at his peak of evil but from what she heard, she hadn't even scraped the surface.

"No, he didn't throw anyone off the roof or shot them, but I'll keep it in mind to stay off his radar. I just completed my morning run faster than usual and he punished everyone else for it." She said, taking a sip of water to sooth her now dry mouth.

"That's such an understatement it could be considered a flat-out lie." Jason said as he slid into the seat across from them. The Dauntless born beside him, the girl with blue hair from the train, gave him a glare but he returned it with a goofy smile before continuing. "Elizabeth beat the mile record for a transfer initiate by an entire minute, so now Eric wants everyone else to step up their game to accommodate." His statement was declared loud enough to get some head turning her direction curiously and she blushed lightly.

"It wasn't an entire minute." She muttered as she took a bite of her sandwich. Erica had shock permanently etched onto her face when Liz glanced over to her.

"No. Way. Seriously? That's awesome! You keep this up throughout training and you will be ranked number one! How fast did you run?"

Liz shrugged, not caring to remember the exact number. "Five minutes and fifty something seconds." She said quietly, but apparently several people around the table heard because there were gasps.

That's faster than I can run a mile! Have you been practicing or something?" Erica said, and Liz suddenly felt guilty. She didn't mean to show off or make anyone to feel bad, she was just trying to impress her supervisors to get on their good side, but it appeared she did the opposite.

"I ran at Amity through the woods and meadows just for fun, and we had neighborhood races and stuff, but I never tried to time myself or _practice_ for Dauntless. I'm just faster than I thought I was." She shrugged and took an awkward bite of her apple. Erica was still gaping at her slightly, but the table moved on to other conversation quickly, becoming easily distracted by any other piece of information they could turn into juicy gossip and rumors.

She had lost most of her appetite, so she only finished her apple and sandwich, letting Jason eat her large cluster of grapes.

"You call that a punch?" Eric's mocking tone echoed in the large room, and Liz immediately felt bad for whoever was on the receiving end of a no doubt embarrassing punishment. A quick glance down the rows of punching bags let her know it was Britney, who looked terrified to have Eric anywhere near her, much less _talking_ to her. "Try again." A weak attempted punch that resembled a cooked spaghetti noodle being whacked against a wall was all she managed and Eric scoffed. "I meant _punch,_ not high-five." He deadpanned, crossing his arms impatiently.

"I didn't say you could stop." The distraction had caused almost everyone to stop their own practicing to watch the exchange, which seemed to irritate Eric if his snappy yell was anything to go by. The seven rushed to hit the bags, carefully avoiding looking back in his direction. Amar, who had been helping correct some issues with Billy"s stance, was now making his way to Eric and Britney, probably to help get her out of the pit she kept digging deeper for herself everytime she threw a punch at her bag.

Liz had a pretty good idea how to at least throw a proper punch; she _had_ grown up with two brothers, even if it was in Amity. Amar had told her a few minutes before to widen her stance, but other than that she was pretty confident about this part of training. Eric and Amar were now discussing in hushed tones, and Eric looked annoyed.

The thudding of fists against the rough leather sounded dully as everyone continued plowing into their bags, almost too tired to continue. They had been at it for over three hours and Liz wasn't sure how much longer they were expected to continue, because she could keep up for much longer, especially since her shoulders were still aching from the guns earlier. After what felt like another two hours (but in reality was only fifteen minutes, when she glanced at the clock for the fifth time in last hour), Amar was dismissing them.

"You all have free time until lights out at 10 o'clock. You are not allowed to leave the compound for any reason without a leader, and you only get ten points every day until the end of initiation, where it will depend on your job, so use them sparingly." Amar concluded, ushering them all out the door except for Britney, who he called back to practice her punch more.

Now that they were free from the leaders' critical eyes, Paul, Amber, and Billy, for lack of better terms, bullied her with their words all the way back to the dorms. They threw angry jabs at her for "showing off" and "flaunting her skills so they looked bad" about her run that morning. Even though she had thought similarly herself, hearing it from them as excuses to unleash their anger in insult form made her feel differently about it. She was better at something than they, they just couldn't handle it, and she wasn't going to put up with it. She was going to keep her mouth shut and ignore them, but when Paul said she had probably just skipped laps and hadn't even completely her run, she snapped. Swiveling around to get in his face, she growled low and calm. "Just because I could beat you in a race without even trying doesn't mean you have to pity party about it. Why don't you try getting better yourself instead of excusing and justifying your lack of leg muscles?" She accused, staring at him another long second before glancing at the other two beside him, giving them each pointed glares. When Billy looked genuinely guilty, she turned back around and walked away, catching back up with Jared.

Dinner was more eventful, sitting with Erica again. Jared and Derik had joined them, and she was introduced to several of Erica's friends. Madelyn, the girl with the electric blue hair, was actually really funny, compared to her slightly snotty attitude on the train. Ashley, the green-haired girl, was very loud and only a bit annoying, but thankfully she was sitting near the other end of the table. Daniel, who was sitting directly across from Liz, was really chill, with messy black curls and deep blue eyes, which she had trouble looking away from. They were downright mesmerizing, and she had always had a thing for eyes.

Being around such a spontaneous and carefree atmosphere was starting to loosen Liz up, and she began to feel more comfortable. She chomped through her steak, feeling bold enough to participate in the joking. She was surprised by how much she was enjoying herself, and decided not to over-analyze it just yet, letting her mind stay in the present.

She was excited and ready for tomorrow, even though her body seemed to protest through the stiffness in her shoulders and legs. After taking a warm shower to relieve some of the tension, she hopped under the thin blanket, trying to maintain some ounce of body heat. Despite the chilly temperatures of the underground room, her tired body fell asleep effortlessly, completely exhausted from the day.


End file.
